Your paediatrician or other professional may offer you investigations after your child’s diagnosis
These are blood test investigations looking at some general health markers (such as a haemoglobin or blood count, Vitamin D level) and some other tests which look for conditions which are known to be associated with autism (such as a muscle marker for Muscular Dystrophies), and genetic tests. The genetic tests look at differences between the child’s genetic material and the rest of the population’s.
For children without physical disability, learning disability, an unusual head size, or unusual facial features, the chances of finding something on the genetic tests are low. In this situation your paediatrician or other professional will give you the choice about whether to go ahead with these blood tests or not. There is no right or wrong way to approach this – different families feel differently about the general and genetic tests.
In the unusual situation where a definite genetic cause was found this may bring information and a ‘reason’ why the child has autism, but it does not mean there is a treatment or ‘cure’.
Still want to speak to the team?
If you’re worried about your child, our team will be able to offer advice and support. You can Call Us on 0300 029 50 50 **Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm excluding bank holidays** select/ask to speak to the community paediatricians.